Vanessa Joseph
Vanessa Joseph is Supervising Attorney at Catholic Legal Services, where she continues providing legal services to vulnerable populations. In addition to representing low-income immigrants, Vanessaconducts information sessions for immigrant detainees to inform them of their rights and the immigration court process. Through her work in the detention centers, she has provided these services to more than one thousand men and women through group and individual orientations and self-help workshops.
Vanessa began her work in immigration and human rights as a law student when she worked in two legal clinics where she was able to engage in advocacy on behalf of the Haitian community of South Florida. In 2013, Joseph contributed to an amicus curiae brief filed in the case of Benito Tide Méndez et al. v. Dominican Republic before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. As a member of the South Florida chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Vanessa served as a Chair of the State Issues Committee and a member on the Pro Bono and Office of Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) committees. Given her passion for service, Vanessa Joseph, in 2019, was elected as the City of North Miami’s Elected City Clerk. In this office, she makes history as both the City’s youngest and first Black female City Clerk.